GSA Capital Partners LLP Purchases New Position in KinderCare Learning Companies, Inc. $KLC

Key Points

• GSA Capital Partners purchased 443,841 KinderCare shares worth approximately $1.89 million, establishing a stake of about 0.37%; several other institutional investors also increased their positions.
• KinderCare missed second-quarter earnings expectations, reporting adjusted EPS of $0.08 versus $0.10 expected, revenue of $697.5 million, and an $8.8 million net loss. Adjusted EBITDA declined to $63 million from $82 million year over year.
• Management cut its 2026 adjusted EPS outlook to $0.05–$0.15 and plans to close roughly 80–85 centers as part of a footprint-optimization effort. Analysts’ consensus rating is “Reduce”, with a $4.13 average price target, while JPMorgan downgraded the stock to “underweight.”

GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of KinderCare Learning Companies, Inc. (NYSE:KLC - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 443,841 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,886,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP owned approximately 0.37% of KinderCare Learning Companies at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of KinderCare Learning Companies by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 16,811 shares of the company's stock worth $195,000 after acquiring an additional 1,025 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in shares of KinderCare Learning Companies by 62.4% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,128 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 1,971 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in shares of KinderCare Learning Companies by 350.8% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 6,600 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 5,136 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of KinderCare Learning Companies by 20.2% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 30,909 shares of the company's stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 5,192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC increased its position in KinderCare Learning Companies by 42.4% in the fourth quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 17,800 shares of the company's stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 5,304 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KLC has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of KinderCare Learning Companies from $5.00 to $4.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of KinderCare Learning Companies from $4.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of KinderCare Learning Companies from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of KinderCare Learning Companies from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of KinderCare Learning Companies from $1.50 to $4.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $4.13.

Key Stories Impacting KinderCare Learning Companies

Here are the key news stories impacting KinderCare Learning Companies this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KinderCare is pursuing “footprint optimization,” including plans to close approximately 80–85 centers in 2026. Management expects the restructuring to improve operating efficiency and better align its center network with demand. KinderCare 2026 outlook and center closures
• Neutral Sentiment: Holzer & Holzer announced an investigation into whether KinderCare complied with federal securities laws after the earnings disclosure and subsequent stock decline. The announcement does not allege wrongdoing or indicate that a regulatory action has been filed, but it adds potential legal and headline risk. KLC investor investigation announcement
• Negative Sentiment: Second-quarter adjusted earnings were $0.08 per share, below the $0.10 consensus estimate and down from $0.22 a year earlier. Revenue of $697.5 million was slightly below expectations and declined 0.4% year over year. The company also reported an $8.8 million net loss. KinderCare misses second-quarter earnings estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Adjusted EBITDA fell to $63 million from $82 million a year earlier, reflecting lower occupancy and weaker operating leverage. Management reduced its 2026 adjusted EPS outlook to $0.05–$0.15, below the $0.20 analyst consensus, while forecasting revenue of approximately $2.66–$2.70 billion. KinderCare lowers 2026 outlook
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan downgraded KinderCare from “neutral” to “underweight,” adding further pressure to investor sentiment following the earnings miss and guidance reduction.

KinderCare Learning Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:KLC opened at $2.58 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $306.14 million, a PE ratio of -0.65 and a beta of 3.99. The stock's fifty day moving average is $4.70 and its 200 day moving average is $3.95. KinderCare Learning Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $1.75 and a fifty-two week high of $7.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75.

KinderCare Learning Companies (NYSE:KLC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.10 by ($0.02). KinderCare Learning Companies had a positive return on equity of 6.65% and a negative net margin of 17.23%.The firm had revenue of $697.52 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $697.94 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.22 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. KinderCare Learning Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.050-0.150 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that KinderCare Learning Companies, Inc. will post 0.14 earnings per share for the current year.

KinderCare Learning Companies Profile

KinderCare Learning Companies Inc is a provider of high-quality early childhood education by center capacity. KinderCare Learning Companies Inc is based in PORTLAND, Ore.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding KLC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for KinderCare Learning Companies, Inc. (NYSE:KLC - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source